[Baps] Cuk Talk, Fri 4/9 4pm: Early History of the Earth-Moon System

[Sarah Stewart-Mukhopadhyay]

Harvard Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences Special *Seminar

*Early History of the Earth-Moon System
Dr. Matija Cuk
University of British Columbia
*
Friday, April 6 at 4:00 pm*

*Haller Hall, Geological Museum
*

*Abstract:* The earliest history of the Earth-Moon system, from its
formation to the Lunar Cataclysm 3.9 Gyr ago (also known as Late Heavy
Bombardment) is poorly known. Different interpretations of the Cataclysm
have important consequences for the conditions on Hadean Earth. In the first
part of the talk I will show that this event had to be a true spike in the
meteoritic bombardment of the Moon, and that there is presently no good
evidence that the rest of the Solar System was affected by the Cataclysm. I
will then present our hypothesis that the Lunar Cataclysm was caused by
fragments of a destabilized and tidally disrupted Trojan companion to the
Moon, and discuss the implications for the Moon's orbital evolution and
tidal properties of Hadean Earth. In the second part of the talk I will
present my work on the evolution of lunar orbital eccentricity and show that
it was likely very low during the early part of the system's history,
contrary to some previously published claims.
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